Home range comparison of exotic species Trachemys scripta elegans and native species Mauremys sinensis in the Qionghai Section of Wanquan River, Hainan Island, China.

The home range of the invasive Red-eared Slider(Trachemys scripta elegans) and the native Chinese Strip-necked Turtle(Mauremys sinensis) was tracked by radio telemetry in the periods of July 2010 to April 2011 and August 2011 to August 2012 in the Qionghai Section of Wanquan River,Hainan Island,China.The home range and home range length of each individual was calculated by minimum convex polygon based on 2 043 locations from 32 individuals tracked.The home range area of T.s.elegans and M.sinensis is,respectively,8.15±2.83 hm2,5.82±3.95 hm2,and the line home range is 534.07±74.98 m,504.00±222.96 m.No any difference was detected between the two species in home range area and line home range.The home range and home range length of females were significantly larger than those of male in adult T.s.elegans.The home range overlap degree between individuals of T.s.elegans and M.sinensis is,0.27±0.02 and 0.08±0.06,respectively;and the intraspecific home range overlap degree of T.s.elegans was significantly larger than that of M.sinensis.The home range overlap degree of T.s.elegans and M.sinensis is 0.20±0.02.The results of this study suggest that T.s.elegans may have a potential competitive threat to M.sinensis in the wild.